I changed the name of this post as I thought it didn’t indicate what the post was actually about. Sorry if that’s a no-no. And I’m working in RM9 and Windows 11, so if my other question was addressed in RM10 or RM11, ignore the request. And thanks!
I answered a question on Ancestry indicating that RM will “sync” with Ancestry, and immediately got my come-uppins from a former RM user/beta tester. Roots Magic does not sync, it uses Treeshare. Software with a true sync function does not require user interaction. I was informed by this former RM “beta tester” that I should stop providing false information to people and that a true sync function has been requested of RM numerous times but the developers refuse to create one. If that is true, why do they believe a sync function is not a good function for RM? Is there some copyright restriction that prevents it? While I don’t know that I would ever just “push a button and hope for the best,” I suppose having that option would please a lot of people. I have the software that does a true “sync” function, but do not currently use it.
My second question is, and this is a feature request I suppose, can dates be put on people in the Treeshare side where a link is to take place. For example, Susan Smith’s detailed profile shows up on the RM side, and on the Ancestry side is two Susan Smiths - with nothing more. No dates, no nothing. How am I supposed to know who to link the RM Susan Smith to? And it happens the other way as well - a detail profile on Ancestry side and two or three names with nothing more on the RM side. Please, tell me how to tell them apart or add something to help me do that - a birth/death date - anything that helps me match one with the other. When there is only one I can look at that one and see if it is a match. But when there is more than one, its a crap shoot. Thank you for listening. -Martha
I’m not aware of any TreeShare changes between RM9, RM10, and RM11.
The use of the word “sync” with respect to TreeShare does seem to be controversial. I like to call the process a “manual sync”, but the word “sync” itself seems to convey a sense of being automatic. So I am sometimes criticized for even calling the process a “manual sync”.
In any case, it is not always clear to new RM users who wish to keep their data in both RM and Ancestry and to keep that data aligned between the two that the process is not automatic. Perhaps the RM documentation and advertising about TreeShare should make this more clear.
As far as I know, there are only two genealogy apps on the market which support direct transfer of data between the app and Ancestry, and RM is one of them with its TreeShare feature. You can transfer data between most any genealogy app and Ancestry using GEDCOM, but that is not the the same thing at all.
The other genealogy app which supports direct transfer between itself and Ancestry does support an automatic sync mode. But this automatic sync mode has a reputation of sometimes failing to the point that both your data in RM and your data in Ancestry have become corrupted. Users who have encountered this problem will then sometimes switch to RM and TreeShare and be forever grateful that RM’s data sharing process is more manual and therefore more under user control and safer.
I have licenses for several genealogy apps other than just RM. Like you, I have the “other” app that can share data with Ancestry and which does so in a completely automatic mode. Putting aside the “sharing with Ancestry” issue, the “other” app totally does not meet my needs at all.
All the apps on the market obviously have strengths and weaknesses. If an app only had weaknesses it would not be on the market very long. RM does not meet my needs perfectly, and none of the apps do. But RM is that app that comes far, far closer to meeting all my needs than do any of the other apps on the market. I’m a sample size of one, and your mileage may vary.
An approach to consider is to sign-in to Ancestry via a browser and look at both people who appear to be the same person. Then consideration of their relationships, merge them or better identify them before using TreeShare to link the correct person. I used two programs which share data with a Family Tree on Ancestry. RM gives me more control over syncing the trees while the other is easier but requires “touch ups” in Ancestry.com.
I agree. My point on FB (Ancestry group) was that RM gives one the ability to control the process, thereby perhaps avoiding the pitfalls an automatic transfer can cause. But he would have none of it. I was still providing false information and I should just stop. It became clear that, for whatever reason, he did not like nor support RM. Thanks for your response. Its always welcome!
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I did try just what you suggested, but I just couldn’t sort out which one was which when I came back to the treeshare function. I can’t tell if the first Mary Smith was born 1828 or if the 2nd Mary Smith was, or the third Mary Smith was. It just doesn’t tell me. I know which one I’m looking for, I just can’t tell which of the three Marys is THAT one.
Jerry covered the history of manual “sync” or sharing with RM very well. When RM first partnered with Ancestry we had the option to do a manual vs an automated sync. Seeing the issues that can happen with automated sync we decided to support the manual sharing of data back and forth. I cannot speak to what the future is with an automatic sync, but we known the interest for it as an option is there.
I can confirm the request for a date or date range when matching has been reported to development. When I have people with the same names I usually click on “Edit RootsMagic Person” button and add an asterisks to the end of their given name. Then I click on the row that has the Ancestry person and match them to the one with the asterisk in RM. Once matched I removed the asterisk. That helps me determine which matches line up.
Thanks for your response. I am glad RM took the manual option as I have myself suffered loss at the hands of an auto sync (not in any gen software) done poorly. Sometimes things just don’t mesh together well, or they aren’t supposed to and it takes a live person to determine that. As for the other, I look forward to that addition! But I also appreciate your work-around as well. I will definitely try it!. Thanks again, Renee!
The other genealogy app which supports direct transfer between itself and Ancestry does support an automatic sync mode. But this automatic sync mode has a reputation of sometimes failing to the point that both your data in RM and your data in Ancestry have become corrupted.
100 percent agree. This is why I’m a Roots Magic user now. I started to see signs of data corruption in my database for the other App Which Shall Not Be Named and couldn’t switch fast enough. I ended up having to dump that database entirely and start over from Ancestry.
